Since I need a few more photos for next year’s calendar, I decided to take some of my pocket watches apart.

I’m thinking of using this one, which is ironically my cheapoest pocket watch.

This one is from a much nicer watch.

Both of them are completely analog watches, no batteries or quartz or anything. That means they’re not super accurate, but since you have to wind them every day or so you may as well set them again, too.

This lady is an appropriately named Black and Yellow Garden Spider. I think I found one outside the front door about this time last year. This year she’s inside the screen door. I think they like the ivy.

I know this is a female since the males are significantly smaller (less than a centimeter, usually) and have more muted colours. However, it’s very likely there is a male around. These spiders make really nice spherical webs, and the males come in and make the messy zigzags all over the place.

Here is a picture of one next to a quarter for scale. As you can see, Ms. Spider wins for size, but the quarter wins for shiny.

I took this a few weeks ago. We saw the nest while biking through a trail through what used to be an ammunition plant. It’s right by where they’re planning on building the new Vikings stadium, thereby destroying all the nature bits.

The area is all sealed off and I’m not really into trespassing on federal grounds, so this was taken from WAY far away with a 200mm lens with a 2x teleconverter.

I’m not really all that happy with it, but I did think it’s kinda cool. I like how the birds adapted.

After that whole tree frog thing, and noticing frogs all OVER the place, I decided to take the real camera with a macro lens out to the park.

Please note that any mention of frog species is speculation.

I’m a bit sad about this one because there were originally three frogs there, but one of them ran off when he saw me. I thought these were pickerel frogs, but the amount and shape of spots are a bit wrong, so I think these are leopard frogs.

Another presumably leopard frog.

I am so amphibious!!!

Now this might be a pickerel frog. The one before too now that I think about it.

I love nature. Especially when it lets me get right up in it’s face. This is Mr. Amphibious from before. And yes I was in that puddle with him.

Another possible pickerel.

This I think is a leopard.

Those were a challenge to take. First of all those guys blend in really well and unless you walk REALLY slowly they run away before you see them. You have to move reeaalllly sllloowwwlly. And then the dog shows up and chases them away. She didn’t eat any of them, but she was really interested in them.